The Harman Kardon AVR 520 is a TOP Performer in Home Theater!
Written: Oct 06 '02 (Updated Feb 01 '03)
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Pros: It produces an excellent sound with a lot to offer!
Cons: Price & no Phono input!
The Bottom Line: This is one of the best Home Theater Receivers I have seen so far!
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| surferdude7's Full Review: harman/kardon AVR 520 5.1 Channels Receiver |
The Harman Kardon AVR 520 has a modern look that is plain and simple but is very attractive in appearance. What I like is you have a big round Volume control knob and right below it are three small round knobs to control Bass, Treble and the Balance. Another plus is the front connections, like many it has three RCA inputs (One Video and left & right speakers) plus an S-video input. Now to add to the front connections they went a step farther and included two digital input connections, one for a fiber optic cable and the other for a digital coaxial cable.
The AVR 520 has 85 watts per speaker in stereo and 75 watts per speaker times five speakers. It has decoders built-in for Dolby Digital, DTS-ES and Pro Logic II, plus it has MP3 decoding. It is ready for 5.1 (5 speakers & 1 subwoofer) audio playback and can be set up for 6.1 and 7.1 audio.
The receiver is 17-5/16 inches Wide x 6-1/2 inches in Height x 17-1/8 inches Deep with 30 AM/FM presets and comes with a 2 year warranty.
~~~ The Remote ~~~
It is a good looking remote with a good layout of the buttons and size of the buttons. It is programmable for your CD, DVD player and more. It is backlit so you can use it in the dark easily.
The remote lets you automatically balance the levels of your home theater speakers with a built-in SPL sensor. The remote gives you Dual-room & dual-source audio capability.
The Harman Kardon AVR 520 includes a second remote for multi room use.
~~~ High Definition Compatible Digital ~~~
The Harman Kardon AVR 520 has a High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) decoder built-in.
HDCD decoding gives you the best quality playback of your HDCD encoded CDs. An HDCD encoded CD can be played on any CD player but to get the full sound of a HDCD CD you need an HDCD decoder.
~~~ On Screen Display ~~~
You can connect the AVR 520 to your TV set to make adjustments like, sound modes, volume to each speaker and much more.
~~~ Surround Sound Modes ~~~
The Harman Kardon AVR 520 offers you all kinds of surround sounds to use.
Dolby Digital 5.1
DTS 5.1, ES 6.1 Matrix and ES 6.1 Discrete
Dolby Pro Logic II
Logic 7 Cinema, Music and Enhanced
DTS Neo6 Cinema and Music
Dolby 3 Stereo
Theater
Hall 1 and 2
VMAx Near and Far
~~~ Other Features ~~~
192 kHz/24-bit Digital-to-Analog Converters
5.1- and 7.1-channel Logic 7 Cinema and Music surround modes
7.1-channel preamp out/5-channel main-in
7.1-channel input
Night Mode Setting
Bass Management and Speaker Setup
System Configuration Memory
Multi-Room Operation
Turn-On Volume Level
Memory Backup
Sleep Timer
Display Dimmer
~~~ The Back of the Receiver ~~~
For me the back of the receiver brings excitement because of all the nice options available for input and output connections. For a lot of people it would look like a nightmare having a total of 87 different connections for input, output and speaker connections. Remember you won’t use all of the connections just some of them with choices on how you want your video and your audio setup.
To the left of the receiver back you find an input for an AM Loop Antenna Input with two thumb screw connections and a FM 75-ohm Antenna input with a threaded "F" type connector.
The Connections!
Video 1 Input & Output consists of stereo RCA jacks, RCA composite video jacks and S-video jacks.
Video 2 Input & Output consists of stereo RCA jacks, RCA composite video jacks and S-video jacks.
Video 3 Input consists of stereo RCA jacks, RCA composite video jack and S-video jack.
Digital Optical 1 Input is a standard digital input.
Digital Optical 2 Input is a standard digital input.
Digital Optical Output is a standard digital output.
(Digital Optical uses a fiber optic cable.)
Digital Coaxial 1 Input is a standard coaxial digital jack.
Digital Coaxial 2 Input is a standard coaxial digital jack.
Digital Coaxial Output is a standard coaxial digital jack.
(Digital Coaxial needs a special coaxial cable made for digital.)
Component Video MON is a component video output made for wideband switching. (HDTV)
Component Video 2 is a component video input.
Component Video DVD is a component video input.
(A Component Video input or output has three RCA jacks, one for luminance {brightness} and the other two for chrominance.{color} The RCA jacks are labeled as Pr, Pb, and Y )
DVD Input are stereo RCA jacks, RCA composite video jack and a S-video jack.
CD Input has stereo RCA jacks.
Tape Input & Output are stereo RCA jacks.
Monitor Output is a RCA composite video jack and S-video jack.
Main Amp Inputs are preamp outputs for the front left & right, rear left & right and center are corresponding main amp inputs with jumper pins shorting the two together.
Multi Outputs are stereo RCA jacks made to be connected to a separate amplifier in a second room.
Multi-Room IR Input is a mini-jack input for use with an optional IR sensor to control the Multi-room Outputs.
8 Channel Direct Inputs of RCA jacks for 6 or 8 channel connections, an external decoder is needed for 8 channels.
8 Preamp Outputs of RCA jacks
Speaker Outputs of binding post for the front left & right, rear left & right and center speakers.
Two AC Outlets one not switched means it will stay on all the time and one switched meaning it will shut off what ever is plugged in here when the receiver is turned off.
Remote Control In/Out Jacks there is one mini-jack input and one mini-jack output. The input can be used with an optional IR sensor.
~~~ Overall ~~~
A beautiful Home Theater Receiver, the best Harmon Kardon I have used so far. The retail price is a little high of $999 but it gives you quality and performance like none other.
Setting up a Home Theater System can be a nightmare but if you will read your instructions and take some time you will find out it is mainly time consuming. The AVR 520 gives you plenty of option for connecting to any component you wish except a Phonograph.
Using the remote and on screen menu makes many adjustment very easy to use and understand.
As far as sound, it puts out only 75 watts per speaker in the 5.1 system but believe me it sounds a lot better, louder and clearer than many receiver rated at over 100 watt per speaker. This just shows me that Harmon Kardon has built-in quality.
You spend $2000 to $3000 for a big screen TV so why not spend $1000 to $1500 for a good receiver and speaker system. I always recommend spending about half on your audio system to what you spent on your TV
I Highly Recommend the Harman Kardon AVR 520.
Here are some of my other reviews!
Thank You for Reading Them!
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Polk DS7200 Home Theater System
The Harman Kardon AVR 325 Receiver
Kenwood VR 4080 Surround Sound AV receiver
JBL 12" Powerbass Subwoofer
Things to know before Buying a New Receiver!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 699
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surferdude7
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Location: Elizabethtown, Ky.
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